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Alan Kellman's avatar

My pleasure Matty. It's fun thinking about these things.

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NickS (WA)'s avatar

Ooh, fun topic, and I've got a few that I think you'll like. First Janis Ian's "Play Like A Girl" goes along with your personal story about sports -- https://youtu.be/XmooQq7bH8I

"When I was ten years old, I was told -- / You can't play baseball / You've got to pitch underhand / You can't throw it like a man / It won't be any fun at all"

...

"Now all over this big wide world / I play [guitar] like a girl / From the California lights to the Serengetti nights / I play like a girl"

Second, I was recently amazed to see this comment by Christy Moore about "Joxer Goes To Stuttgart" -- not something that many songwriters get to (or want to) say: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/christy-moore-i-ve-sung-joxer-goes-to-stuttgart-3-000-times-1.3516377

“I have sung Joxer at almost every gig for 30 years, maybe 3,000 times. I still enjoy those four minutes, still love dogs howling at the moon and the roars forever celebrating Ray Houghton’s goal.

A childhood favorite of mine that I was enjoying again last year, Charlie King's "New Race To Run" written based on a news story he saw about the track athlete who quit his sport to focus on anti-apartheid activism, but I think it holds up well even without that specific context. Part of why it resonated so strongly with me as a child and still feels relevant is the way it captures the anxiety of, "I had something I knew I was good at. I want to try something else; I don't know if I'll be as successful at this, but I still have to try." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLUCIrk2wsc

"The Old Playground" by Bruce Hornsby has one of the best lines about pick-up basketball "The old sage frowns, he says just pass it on around / But all-world junior's pulling up from downtown" -- https://youtu.be/0NgDdermIAo

Finally I love Wayne Henderson's instrumental version of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" -- which starts by playing the tune slow and soulful and then switches to double-time: https://youtu.be/ln7y3ow3PI8

Plus the Gordie Howe tribute song, "They Call Him Mr. Hockey" is cheesy, silly, and everything you'd want https://youtu.be/ZxZw0Mil7qA

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Matty C's avatar

These are great, Nick. Thanks for sharing. Great note on the Christy Moore tune as well.

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NickS (WA)'s avatar

Yeah, there aren't many songwriters who have a song that stays in their repertoire for that long -- and still enjoy it.

Though, apparently, that also includes The Darkness (though they're counting sound-check performances): https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/jan/23/why-dont-we-just-write-the-stupidest-song-ever-how-the-darkness-made-i-believe-in-a-thing-called-love

"To record it, I probably played it 200 times. And since then, I’d say the total is pushing 4,000. Every tour we did, we’d soundcheck with it as well. Three times a day, five times a week. What’s surprising is how big it is internationally. "

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Matty C's avatar

That is a great story about The Darkness. So rare the band doesn't wind up hating its biggest hit.

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David Perlmutter's avatar

Nice to see The Tragically Hip and The Weakerthans representing Canada...

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Matty C's avatar

Always happy to fly that flag high. Too bad I couldn't think of a Sloan tune about sports to round out the triumvirate.

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Alan Kellman's avatar

Great list. I've got a few more. Chuck Brodsky has a whole album of baseball songs. Like so many sports songs they're usually something more to the song than the just the sport of it.

My two faves from Chuck are:

Letters in the Dirt - A song about Chuck's relationship with his dad centered around the controversial Phillies player, Ritchie Allen. Love this song.

Bonehead Merkle - 1908, Fred Merkle forgets to touch second and as a result the Giants don't win the pennant. Merkle becomes the Bill Buckner of his time. Later he gets redemption with a standing O at an old timers day.

To get away from baseball. Chuck also has Hockey Fight.

Dan Bern is another songwriter with a lot of sports songs.

Tiger Woods is a great song. Really not about golf though.

Gamblin' with my Love - A song about Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti and of course relationships (with Dan's girlfriend's part sung by Martha Wainwright).

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Matty C's avatar

Thanks so much, Alan. I am thrilled there is a tune about Merkel's Boner. What a tragic tale. Very Buckneresque. And I need to go listen to that Pete Rose tune right away. Thanks for being here, my friend.

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